


sharing biscotti with some brunette hipster

by crescentlesl



Category: Kissing in the Rain (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, Fake/Pretend Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-01
Updated: 2017-09-26
Packaged: 2018-11-07 18:07:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 7,831
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11064345
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crescentlesl/pseuds/crescentlesl
Summary: After James' and Lily's second movie together, Lily takes some time off to produce a music album. She needs good PR, and what better PR is there than dating her erstwhile costar?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Three years later...these characters are totally still relevant, right?  
> AU after the second episode and I blithely ignored most of the fancanon. Pretty much the only canon I subscribe to are the [first](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9kMIcdMe56s) [two](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Va1_vjUBkBo) episodes and the [second episode drabble](http://yulinkuang.tumblr.com/post/79879626098/kissing-in-the-rain-shipping-it) (whence the title comes). Also inspired by [this](http://gentlesleaze.tumblr.com/post/150074612283/my-only-interest-in-the-hiddleswift-news-is-the) tumblr text post, which I realize was 9 months ago. Sometimes things need to percolate.

There'd been some pushback when Lily had announced her plan to take a break from acting so she could produce a music album, but Lily thinks it's going well so far; plus, she needed this. She needed to get these songs out of her. She's finally in the studio today and it's a real trip to hear her songs start to come to life when they've lived in her head for so long.  
  
When Lily leaves the studio for lunch, she sees a picture message from Pam. It's that ubiquitous Twitter picture James posted after their one publicity date, the one where she looks like she's into him. She hates this photo.  
  
_what_  she texts back  
  
_just thinking of you_  Pam replies. _and an idea i just had, it's a good one_  
  
_JOY_  
  
_Are you at lunch now? Call me!_  
  
Lily rolls her eyes and presses Pam's speed dial.  
  
"Fire your publicist and give me a raise," she says immediately. "Because I have come up with the perfect PR for you to get the publicity you need for your album."  
  
"I'm not firing her, she has a candy bowl on her desk," Lily replies. "Also, based on the picture you sent me, I already hate this plan."  
  
"But the PR!" Pam wheedles. "Also you don't have to spend any _private_  time with him, just publicly. Publicly canoodling, if you can find it within yourself."  
  
"Well I do have some practice," Lily admits. "Thanks for the tip; I'll talk to Alexis and she can shut down this terrible idea with her authority of _actually being a publicist_."  
  
"Whatever, it's an amazing idea and I'm just looking out for your career. You can write a song about me and then we'll be even."  
  
"It'll be called "Meddling" and I'm already writing it," Lily says, not even lying because she _is_  writing a song about Pam. Right now it's about dancing, but she can always change topics. "What rhymes with Pam? Maybe 'scram'?"  
  
"Scramming!" Pam hangs up.  
  
Lily huffs, annoyed at herself because she is actually considering this idea. She spends her lunch break doodling lyrics to "Meddling" because her brain is tired from working on her actual music and focusing on Pam helps distract her from Pam's idea. Which she hates, and she hates that she is still actually considering.  
  
_Working lyrics: Her name is Pam, I wish she'd scram, she always gets me in a jam_  
  
_It's beautiful. Has the ring of being your new single._  
  
Lily tries to be focused for her afternoon in the studio. Studio days aren't cheap, after all, and she really wanted to get at least three songs ready for post-prod so she can release a single ( _not_  "Meddling") by the end of the summer.  
  
But one weird line keeps floating through her head and she has to make a conscious effort not to sing it: _Would it be so terrible?_  
  
"That's a wrap," says Todd, the main sound engineer. "Thanks for today, everyone!"  
  
Lily hopes she's exhibiting enough gratitude to everybody but her brain is already outside the studio, picking a piece of candy from Alexis's bowl. As soon as she can get away she shoots off a text to her publicist.  
  
_Hey Alexis just finished in the studio! Went awesome! Wanna talk to you though. Need you to shut down an idea._  
  
_Glad to hear it! And we can meet tomorrow if you're free. I want to hear this terrible idea. I might have an idea or two to share with you as well._  
  
Lily tries not to worry about what ideas Alexis might've come up with for her PR. After all, she's already heard the worst idea ever, right?  
  
_Would it be so terrible?_  
  
  
  
The next morning, Lily steps into Alexis's office, sits down, and immediately pulls the candy bowl toward her. Her fingers hover over a Starlight mint until she remembers, "Yeah, can you get her a mint?" and she flinches. Better just go with a Tootsie Roll.  
  
"Starting early on the sugar, eh?" Alexis says, watching the single-minded perusal of her candy with some amusement.  
  
"One of those weeks," Lily says, busily unwrapping. "How are you, by the way?"  
  
"Pretty good, actually, considering one of my rising star actresses decided to give being a musician a try. Doesn't it usually go the other way around?"  
  
Lily shrugs. "I'm just taking a break. I'll be acting again soon; don't think I could stop, honestly."  
  
"Well, that's kind of what we need to talk about. Your public image needs to promote your music while also reminding people that you're an actress, so what can we do to make that happen?"  
  
Lily's about to remind Alexis that this is why she hires a publicist when she spots a picture on Alexis's desk. A picture she would be unhappily familiar with even if Pam hadn't texted it to her yesterday.  
  
"I can't date James for publicity."  
  
Alexis smiles. Lily doesn't like that smile. "We're not saying you have to date him. We just think you should spend some quality time together in public."  
  
"Who's we?"  
  
"I was doing lunch with James's publicist the other day and she mentioned James is trying to outrun some rumors about him and his latest co-star."  
  
Lily tries not to smirk, but she does raise a sardonic eyebrow. James's latest was a low-budget buddy cop movie, and his "buddy" keeps showing up wherever James is and can't, apparently, be shaken. "Isn't that homophobic?"  
  
Alexis looks sternly at her. "No more than any other rumor-quashing public appearances. Besides, I have it on fairly good authority Josh is just doing it for attention."  
  
"Which is different from what you want me to do _how_?" Lily cries.  
  
"Well, ideally both of you will benefit from this association, and both of you will be on board with the plan."  
  
Lily blinks. "James is on board?" _You are not a nice person_ , his voice whispers from her memory.  
  
For the first time, Alexis looks uncertain. "I'm just here to find out how you feel about it. There's precedent, of course--" she indicates the coffee shop photo-- "and you two already know each other. It would probably the easiest way to get what what we want, but if you really feel like it's not something you can--"  
  
"I'm open to it," Lily finds herself saying. "You're right, it is the easiest way. It's just, privately, James and I haven't had the most amicable of relationships. So I'd just be surprised if he wanted to spend any time with me, even if it's just for publicity. Thought he'd be glad to be shot of me after Anne."  
  
"Well, we'll just have to see." Alexis looks at Lily for a second, then pushes the candy bowl back toward her. "Now, you said something about needing me to shut down a terrible idea?"  
  
Lily crunches down hard on a mint. "Oh, I changed my mind about that. Apparently it's a great idea." She wonders how long she can avoid telling Pam.


	2. Chapter 2

Lily's surprised when her "date" with James is at the same coffee shop it was several months ago. She doesn't say anything, but apparently her side-eye when she meets James outside speaks volumes because he shrugs and says, "This is where I normally get coffee. It makes sense for me to meet people here." He opens the door for her. "We can go to one of your usual haunts next time if you want."

She shrugs in response; she's not sure how invested she's supposed to get in this fake relationship. Maybe sometime they can hit up the froyo place she goes to. Or maybe this whole thing was a terrible idea and she should cut and run before everything explodes.

There's a bit of a line, plenty of time for James to stand too close behind her and talk about his favorite gluten-free options and whether dogs would be coffee drinkers. There's even time for him to touch her shoulder to get her to turn towards him so he can lean closer to her ear.

"Hey, uh, Lily," he mutters. "No offense but I kind of hoped you wouldn't look like you're dying while we're hanging out. And maybe actually...say some words? Let me know if my expectations were way off base and I'll recalibrate."

"Maybe I'd say some words if you'd leave me some time to get in edgewise," Lily mutters back, but she puts on a smile while she says it because, yeah, she should try not to look like she's dying. Even though she is. She'd forgotten how on-edge James makes her feel when they're not acting, the weird energetic buzz between them that made for such good onscreen chemistry but really freaks her out. James smiles back, and she's so mad because she can't tell if he means it or if he's just a good actor. And then they're at the front of the line.

By the time they get their orders, Lily is on her game. She pokes gentle fun at his coffee choice and smiles sweetly when he expresses envy at her appealing muffin. "Maybe if you're extra nice to me I'll let you try a bite," she says, fluttering her eyelashes like an _idiot_ , why is she doing that? If she's in character it's an imbecile.

"That can be arranged," James says with a wink, and just like that her heart lurches and she's off her game again. She doesn't like him, she never has, so why does she feel so stupid? It must be because they haven't been spending any time together since the red carpet for Anne, and she's not used to him anymore.

"Hey, what's up?" James whispers as they sit down. "You went pale for a second there. Don't freak out, okay? It's just two friends catching up."

"I _know_ ," she snaps, sipping her drink to hide her scowl. "So tell me, how's the post Talking Money life? Have you found your true calling as a comic actor?"

"It wounds me that you clearly haven't seen my film because then you would know that I played a very serious part. In a very serious movie."

"Give me a break, it's only been out a few weeks. I've been busy with my album, anyway."

"Oh yeah! The fancy new musician life! How's that going?"

"Oh, you know. Super fancy. I've finished writing most of the songs that'll be on the album and started recording them, so I'm making some real progress. It's hard to believe that two years ago I was scribbling in a notebook in my spare time at Starbucks or before auditions and now my songs are really going to be out there, in the world. It's amazing."

James is outright grinning at her.

"What?"

"I've just never heard you talk so much or sound so happy. It's a new experience for me."

"Oh."

"So...." He leans forward. "What's your favorite kind of music?"

Lily feels her eyes widen, so she narrows them into a glare. "Oh my goodness, don't talk to me. I can't believe you're trying that again when it worked so well the first time."

"Well, we're not covered with fake rainwater this time so I thought you might be in a better mood."

"I might be," Lily says, with a real smile. Wow, she kind of hates that she's smiling because of him. But in good news, this whole fake dating thing might actually be bearable.

She's on the verge of actually telling him what kind of music she likes when they're interrupted by a loud, jovial voice. "James, my man! Fancy meeting you here!"

"Hey, Josh. You know this is my regular coffee shop. We meet here a lot, actually." James's voice is perfectly pleasant and he's smiling, but he's also subtly leaning away from Josh, toward Lily. "This is Lily Everett. Lily, Josh McCann."

"Hi," Lily says. "Oh wow, Lily Everett. One of the select few that has played opposite our James. I've of course seen both of your films together. What are you guys doing here today?"

Lily can't decide if she is thrilled at how tense this interaction is making James, or annoyed because Josh, with his perfectly coiffed blond hair and, like, tallness and muscles, has his hand on James's shoulder and seems ready to stay the rest of the day.

"Just two friends catching up," she says. James says it at the same time, and they share startled glances and smile.

"That was creepy," Josh remarks. "I didn't realize I was interrupting a hive mind or whatever."

"Escape while you can," James quips. "I'll catch you later, Josh."

"Sure, catch you later."

And with one last shoulder squeeze (and a smarmy salute in Lily's direction), he's gone. And the tension goes out of James, as subtly as it entered.

"Those will be nice pictures," Lily states, referencing for the first time the photographers that have been capturing this whole outing.

"I'm glad you'll be in them with me," James replies, giving her another of those devastating winks. "Thanks for being here today."

"Anytime," Lily says airily, and hates herself for meaning it. "This wasn't bad at all."

"Nope," James agrees. "Not at all terrible."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This might be the time to admit that this fic is entirely unedited. I've read through it a bit, but for the most part I've just written straight through. It happens! No shame! But...that's what's going on.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trying a different format for this chapter! Just for fun. I didn't worry about time or date stamps or anything; whenever there's a break you can just assume a certain amount of time has passed, whatever makes the most sense to you.

@TheLilyEverett: GNO with @Pammersby and @ConnieRay311! Finally watching Talking $$ which @JamesthePorter has assured me is a very serious film. #allworknoplay

@JamesthePorter: @TheLilyEverett @Pammersby @ConnieRay311 It is definitely the most serious work I've ever done, certainly my magnum opus.

@TheLilyEverett: @JamesthePorter @Pammersby @ConnieRay311 Just got out! It was not quite as terrible as I thought it would be. #thatchasescenetho

@Pammersby: @TheLilyEverett @JamesthePorter @ConnieRay311 I liked it.

@ConnieRay311: @Pammersby @TheLilyEverett @JamesthePorter -____- I hate Twitter

 

DM between @TheLilyEverett and @Pammersby

@Pammersby: The shippers are going crazy right now you know

@TheLilyEverett: hadn't noticed

@Pammersby: There are people combing through all the pap photos of you guys at the coffee shop and trying to decide which picture is most likely the one where he told you T$ was a serious film

@TheLilyEverett: omg even I don't remember that

@Pammersby: I bet you do though

@Pammersby: I bet every moment from your fake date with James is seared into your memory

@TheLilyEverett: what's your damage

@Pammersby: RIP your mentions is all I'm saying

@TheLilyEverett: I'm just trying to give this whole thing a sense of verisimilitude ok

@Pammersby: It's working, you're welcome, your fake breakup is going to break the freakin internet

@TheLilyEverett: meh, i bet no one will even notice

 

***

 

DM between @TheLilyEverett and @JamesthePorter

@JamesthePorter: hey

@TheLilyEverett: Hey?

@JamesthePorter: Thanks for promoting T$ even though you didn't use the official hashtag or say anything good about it

@TheLilyEverett: I said it wasn't terrible. That's a compliment.

@JamesthePorter: I said thanks. Anyway, I (completely un-nudged by my manager) was wondering if you want me to promote anything of yours on Twitter

@JamesthePorter: to make it seem less like you have an embarrassing crush on me and more like we're a team

@TheLilyEverett: EVERYBODY KNOWS YOU'RE THE ONE WITH THE EMBARRASSING CRUSH JAMES UGH I REGRET EVERYTHING

@JamesthePorter: sorry

@JamesthePorter: that was uncalled for

@JamesthePorter: so, thoughts?

@JamesthePorter: or not

@JamesthePorter: I really am sorry

 

Text from Lily to Pam  
You're fired

Text from Pam to Lily   
?????

Text from Lily to Pam   
I can't fire Alexis because she is my #1 source for free Tootsie rolls but I want to fire at least one of my publicists for this terrible idea

Text from Pam to Lily   
Don't be mad but   
You shouldn't think about it too much.   
Let it go   
Work on that song about me

Text from Lily to Pam   
You're right I shouldn't let a fake relationship direct any of my emotions, even if the emotions are just ANNOYANCE

Text from Pam to Lily   
What other emotions could there conceivably be in a fake relationship with someone you hate

 

***

 

Text from unknown number to Lily   
Hey it's James   
I'm sorry

Text from Lily to James   
OMG stop apologizing. And how did you get this #

Text from James to Lily   
I got contacts.   
They work better than glasses.   
That's the dumbest thing I've ever said.

Text from Lily to James   
Doubtful

Text from James to Lily   
You're probably right.

Text from Lily to James   
are you going to that party?

Text from James to Lily   
That was the plan.   
The plan also included giving you lots of attention   
And you being my bodyguard against interlopers   
is that the plan

Text from Lily to James   
Yes   
That's the plan   
Just checking

Text from James to Lily   
Yep just checking   
So we're good?

Text from Lily to James   
OMG it doesn't matter   
but we're not bad everything's fine

Text from James to Lily   
OK just checking :)

 

***

 

Text from Alexis to Lily   
Hey check your email, I sent you the proposed Jily schedule for the next couple weeks

Text from Lily to Alexis   
don't call it that  
also there's only one thing on here

Text from Alexis to Lily Yeah, since you're so busy getting your album all ready (how's that going btw) and he's got...a family thing? I'm actually not clear on the details   
But did you notice that you're arriving together to dinner and not just meeting there It's those subtle details that make the news

Text from Lily to Alexis I'm actually super excited about my music. But the album stuff makes me want to pull my hair out. Trying to book concerts and like   
Kill me

Text from Alexis to Lily No, you're my most interesting client

 

***

 

@TheLilyEverett Hi friends! Watch this space because in 3 days I have something exciting for you!

@JamesthePorter *eyes emoji*

 

DM between @TheLilyEverett and @JamesthePorter

@JamesthePorter Is it too late to delete that tweet

@JamesthePorter It seems weird

@JamesthePorter and it's too much ammo for the fans

@JamesthePorter (btw have we ever talked about how we have fans, I'm not used to it)

@TheLilyEverett It's too late, it's been screencapped

@TheLilyEverett the fans are fast

@TheLilyEverett It'd be worse if you deleted it now. too much speculation

@JamesthePorter You're probably right. What happens in 3 days?

@TheLilyEverett Josh and I are getting engaged

@JamesthePorter noooooooooo

@TheLilyEverett but good news, you won't have to worry about him crashing your social scene anymore

@JamesthePorter I can't believe the way you played us BOTH and also somehow changed his orientation

@TheLilyEverett I'm just that magical

@JamesthePorter Oh I know

@TheLilyEverett (My single is dropping. yay!)

@JamesthePorter Awesome!!

 

***

 

@TheLilyEverett "Incandescent" is now live, everybody!! Share it everywhere and also buy it! Also look for my album "Lights Out and In" coming out soon!

@JamesthePorter This song is actually amazing. RT @TheLilyEverett "Incandescent" is now live, everybody!! Share it everywhere and also buy it! Also look for my album "Lights Out and In" coming out soon!

 

Text from James to Lily  
Congrats on your single (which is really amazing btw)! Are you celebrating?

Text from Lily to James  
My parents sent flowers! And some of my friends and I are going to a spa later this week, but no one's available tonight   
Which is fine, I'm kinda tired. Probably just going to watch Friends or something

Text from James to Lily   
I feel like you need more celebration than that. Let's go get ice cream.

Text from Lily to James  
It's not on the schedule

Text from James to Lily   
We'll go to a drive-thru and wear sunglasses. No one will know.   
And then we can watch TV and eat ice cream in the comfort of your home

Text from Lily to James  
Ugh okay but just because a milkshake sounds amazing   
And I'm not changing out of my comfy pants

Text from James to Lily  
Same   
I'll swing by shortly

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd already started this when I realized their Twitter handles aren't canon but I like these handles and was too lazy to do a find-replace.


	4. Chapter 4

Lily has a problem, and it's not that she has to book another week's worth of gigs because she's sold out all over California. That's not really a problem anyway. And her problem is also not casting directors contacting her about projects that look super interesting, but she can't commit to anything until she's wrapped up her "tour" (such as it is).

No, her problem is James Porter and the fact that she's ridiculously in love with him, and they're _about to break up_.

She's actually tried really hard to keep to the schedule -- no off-record hangouts -- ever since they went and got milkshakes to celebrate "Incandescent" dropping. That one night was bad enough. Nothing happened except they sat on different couches and got in a spat about how bad Ross from Friends really is, but it crossed a major line for Lily, one she refuses to cross again.

After that night, their "Jily" schedule (yes, she's resigned to calling it that now) started including suggestions of public displays of affection. Lily just knows that everyone who spies on them holding hands is assuming a _lot_  more affection is being displayed in private. It's not. And she doesn't want it to (even though her lips remember his _vividly_  despite the months since they've kissed). So she put the kibosh on all clandestine meetings...just in case. But that doesn't mean they don't talk.

Her phone buzzes. She knows it's from James even before she checks, and yep:

_Did you see the new jily schedule_

_looking at it now_

The proposed schedule for this week is the perfect illustration of Lily's problem, because it says "One coffee shop appearance. Distinct stiffness and chilliness should be apparent."

_You be chilliness, I'll be stiffness ;)_

_Ugh, James. Shut up._

_No but what about tonight, Sara Audrey and me have tickets to your show_

Yeah, that complicates things. Lily has never been sure how much James's sisters know. Presumably they know she was a jerk to him during their movies together. Do they know that this whole relationship is fake? Do they know how James really feels? Can they tell how she feels? She hopes not. She hopes she's at least that good of an actress.

She texts back,  _I'm sure it'll be fine. I'll just give you the cold shoulder after the show but be super nice when I meet your sisters. The fans will love it._

Honestly, she's super nervous to meet Audrey and Sara. Sara's worse because Lily knows she's James's confidante. But Audrey is also worse because she's an actress as well, so maybe she can see through Lily.

It might be worth canceling the concert, because this looks like a train wreck waiting to happen.

Her phone buzzes again. _Oh, the fans! Obviously the reason for all we do. See you tonight! break a leg :*_

She sincerely hopes that was a smiley typo because if James is going to start sending her kiss emoticons she really will go around the bend.

 

Backstage at the venue that night, Lily's just finishing up a video call with her mom (who always wants to see what she's wearing to perform) when she notices a text from James. It was sent a while ago, she just must not have noticed.

_Obviously that was supposed to be a frowny face :( I'm practicing stiffness for when we meet_

 And then eleven minutes later:

_Unless you didn't want it to be a typo_

Lily feels her fingers go numb, which is not a great thing for when she picks up a guitar in a few minutes. At least she has enough feeling left to text him back:

_Can you not_

_I'm serious James_

If he responds, she doesn't know because it's time to head onstage. If she's gripping her guitar a little too tightly and smiling a little too brightly, well, her mom's not there to notice and no one else matters.

The show goes totally fine, actually. After her first song she relaxes into the performance (which she's done a lot lately), and she doesn't have any trouble reaching her emotions. The crowd has a vibrant energy and Lily feels _so_  good by the time she's finished her encore piece, she's almost forgotten what awaits her when she meets with her fans after the show.

There's an impressive line at the signing table when she comes out, and everybody starts cheering when they see her, which is majorly gratifying. James is waiting with his sisters on her side of the table. Lily's still riding the high of her show so she knows she's grinning when she pulls him into a tight hug. (Everyone cheers again.)

"Amazing," James says, kissing her forehead like he can't help it. "Amazing concert."

When she pulls away, she can see a flicker in his eyes and knows he's thinking about their last text conversation. She tangles her fingers with his and gives his hand a squeeze to let him know she's thinking about it too, but now's not really the time. Then she remembers that she's in public, James is her fake boyfriend, and he brought his sisters to meet her. She hurriedly disentangles her hand.

"Hi, nice to meet you," she says to the girls. "I'm Lily."

"We kind of figured that out," Sara says with a smile. "James only talks about you all the time."

"Not to mention you're a little famous," Audrey adds, gesturing to the crowd. "We don't want to take too much of your time, just wanted to say that was a great concert and it's nice to finally meet you."

"We should do lunch sometime," Lily says and is appalled that she said that. She can't do lunch with her fake boyfriend's sisters, especially since they're _about to break up_.

"Yeah, maybe," Audrey says, and yeah, she definitely knows the realities of her brother's relationship. "We're going to get out of your hair now. See ya!"

"Wait! Picture first!" Sara already has a selfie stick primed and ready. Lily shrugs and crowds toward the camera with the Porters. James has one hand on Sara's shoulder and the other around Lily's waist. Lily's not about to break the touch barrier with Audrey, so she opts to wrap both of her arms around James while they all smile.

"Thanks for your patience, everyone!" Sara calls to the crowd in line behind them, though they don't look at all unhappy to be witness to this touching display of familial affection. "She's all yours now."

Audrey and Sara sneak off to the side, but before James can follow them, the first girl in line says, "Wait! Jame-Mr. Port--James. Can you sign my movie poster too?"

"Of course." So he takes the seat next to Lily's and they take turns signing. Lots of Lily's fans have brought movie paraphernalia as well as albums for Lily to sign, so there's plenty for James to do and it almost feels natural to have him there.

Lily normally loves interacting with her fans, and she doesn't hate it tonight, but it definitely is a different feeling with James right next to her, knowing that all these people are shipping them. The adrenaline rush from performing is also starting to wane, and she's ever more aware that things are tense between her and James the longer they sit together.

The worst part is when a girl comes up to them with a printed-out picture of the two of them from their "photoshoot" a few weeks ago (insofar as letting the press know they're going for a walk on the beach counts as a photoshoot).

"I'm the luckiest girl alive that James is here tonight too," she gushes, clearly over the moon. "You guys are totally, like, my OTP."

"This is actually a nice picture of us," James says. "Not bad for paparazzi."

"Oh, is it weird that I brought it? Did you not know you were getting photographed?" The girl looks worried.

"We knew," Lily assures her, even though she does think it's weird she's being asked to sign it.

"Well, you look so super happy together. Thanks so much you guys! Love you!"

James and Lily wave at her as she leaves, and when Lily glances at James she sees him looking at her. She looks away quickly and smiles at the next person in line. Isn't the goal to look happy? Why is she so thrown off by the idea that they actually do?

Finally the queue dwindles and dissipates, and Lily leans back and stretches.

"Thanks for sticking with me tonight; you really didn't have to," she tells James.

"I know, but it was actually kind of cool to meet your fans."

"Lots of them are your fans too."

"Weird that there's so much overlap." Lily knows he's looking at her, but she can't make eye contact.

"Where's my phone?" she mutters, digging through her purse even though she knows it'll be in its usual pocket.

"Lily." Nope, nope, nope, not looking. She pulls out her phone. "Do you want to talk?"

"James, I'm really tired and I don't---oh."

"What?"

Lily turns the phone screen toward him so he can see Alexis's message: a screenshot of a recent Instagram post by Sara Porter with an accompanying text

_What is this. Call me, I don't care how late it is._

"I'm sure it's no big deal," Lily says, taking her phone back and dialing Alexis, right there at the table with James next to her.

"Well actually..." James starts, but Alexis answers the phone before he can say more.

"Lily what were you thinking? Meeting James's family? In public?"

"What was I thinking? What do you mean, I didn't invite them. Wasn't this appearance cleared by the Jily committee?"

James puts his head down as he looks at his own phone, so Lily can't see his face when Alexis says shrilly, "Cleared? It was forbidden! We're in cooling phase, there's no way we're bringing the family in at this point! You know that, Lily!"

"I...well, it's too late now. Alexis, I just got done with the fans and I'm super tired, can we deal with this tomorrow?"

"Come to my office first thing," she snaps, then hangs up.

Lily takes a longer look at Sara's picture, captioned _Amazing night at the Lily Everett concert! My older siblings know how to show a girl the town. #porterstakela #ishipit_. All four of them look happy; Sara's youthful enthusiasm shines through, and the other three are actors. The crowd can be glimpsed behind them; they also look happy. Everyone looks _so super happy_ together.

"Um, Lily. Don't you think we should--"

"No. Nope. Not tonight. I can't--" Is she going to cry? She can't do that-- "I really am tired. Just go. I'll see you at our approved appearance."

James nods. "Okay. Thanks for tonight. I'm...sorry. See ya."

She can't say anything else; her throat's too tight. She just nods, still staring down at her phone until she hears the door close behind him.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay in posting, guys. I guess. I'm having MAJOR trouble with the next chapter (not this one, this one's been done for a while) and I felt bad posting something when I don't have the next thing remotely ready. But maybe the posting of this chapter will galvanize me into actually writing the next one. Does it work that way?

James hasn't texted by the time Lily's outside Alexis' office the next morning. She doesn't know why she thought he might. She'd certainly made it sound like she was heading straight to bed last night, and it's basically dawn now. He couldn't have known she'd be up most of the night combing the internet for pictures of the two of them and staring at them like a lovestruck idiot.

Alexis isn't even in yet. Lily might've taken the "first thing in the morning" a bit too literally, but, well, she was up. And it's kind of nice, sitting out here, wondering if she's ruined her career and most of her professional relationships. Very peaceful.

"Well, don't you look like death warmed over." Alexis is strolling in, holding a coffee. "Busy night?"

"Not really. You can leave me here to die if you want." Lily feels like she's being a bit melodramatic, but she's also speaking in a quiet monotone so maybe it's mixed signals.

"Hmm. You'd better have this--" Alexis hands her the coffee and unlocks her office-- "and once we're in you can have first crack at my candy bowl, how's that?"

"Can't you just fire me out here?"

Alexis is sitting down at her desk already. "I'm not going to fire you. I'm going to apologize to you and then we're going to have a very serious, professional talk. Please drink that coffee."

"What?"

"Get in here! We need to discuss something important, but first I need to apologize."

"Oh. Okay." Lily drags herself off the floor and into Alexis' office. "I...didn't I mess up?"

"Yeah, sort of. Actually kinda. But I still overreacted and for that I apologize. I also apologize because it's becoming clear to me we should've talked a little bit more about how you felt about James before we got started on this."

"I didn't like him, you couldn't have known -- we don't even hardly see each other outside of when you schedule us together. Except for one time. And last night, I guess."

"Tell me more about last night. Did it seem weird for him to bring his sisters to meet you when you knew from our conversations that the relationship is supposed to end soon?"

"I mean, yeah. But I--James wanted to come to one of my shows, and his sisters wanted to meet me. I thought it made sense to combine them if they had to happen. Which, I guess they didn't have to happen. But I was glad it happened. Until you called."

"Right, I was a little annoyed that you had created a social media presence in direct contradiction to instructions, but maybe you didn't know Sara Porter was going to do that and...maybe you didn't care. And maybe it doesn't matter."

Lily can't quite follow. "It matters, doesn't it, because it will seem more whiplash-y when James and I are all distant at our appearance this week, if it still even happens, because we look seriously in love and I've met his family, and now all of a sudden we're cooling off?"

"Yeah, it would matter if we decide to continue in that direction. And it's what makes sense at this stage of your career. But, Lily." Alexis leans forward. "We don't have to keep going that direction."

"Oh." Somehow this idea had never occurred to Lily. This has always been the way it'll go: they'll appear to date for a while, then they'll stop. And how Lily feels never seemed to matter to that equation. "But wait, who says I...maybe I'm fine with...I'm a good actress! You're making a lot of assumptions based on how I act when acting is...will be...my job!"

"Honey, one of the first things you told me in here was that we "couldn't have known" how you'd feel when you started this. If you still didn't like him, we could've known that. We sort of banked on it."

"I hadn't had any coffee yet," Lily protests, but she's shaking her head.

"Whatever. Let's go back to something else you said before coffee. You said you got together outside of schedule one time? Deets, girl!"

"We got ice cream and watched Friends on different couches."

"Okay. Not what I expected, but way to have boundaries, I guess."

"Thanks. I was trying to stick to the plan."

"And I appreciate that as your publicist, but as a shipper I'm disappointed."

"Well...it takes two to tango. And James certainly wasn't making any moves." Except for the kiss emoticon. And wanting her to meet his family. Lily pulls the candy bowl towards herself. "He's a good actor. I've been fine to stick to the plan because I thought that's what he wanted too."

"That's what I thought might be happening. But I should probably mention that directly disobeying our counsel and bringing his sisters to your show is not the action of a man that is ready for this fake relationship to end."

Lily feels a little bubble of hope. She'd figured that, a little, but to hear Alexis confirm it is nice. Still, it doesn't change anything. "He hasn't texted me since last night. I was upset, and...anyway, I'm not sure how I feel is going to matter. I'm pretty sure he thinks I'm ready for this fake relationship to end."

"And I think you are, too. Make it a real relationship. Talk to him, Lily. And then talk to me, because helping you navigate a true relationship with another celebrity is still part of my job. Plus I'm curious how it goes."

"Thanks," Lily says. "For the coffee and the very serious, professional talk. And sorry for not looping you in, but like..."

"I get it; they're your private feelings and talking about them made them real. The joys of celeb life, sorry."

Lily shrugs. "It's fine. I am pretty sure it's worth it. And I'm glad you're there to navigate with me."

"My pleasure, sis! Also, you pay me to. But I'm still happy to do it."

Lily takes a mint for the road, just in case she's about to be close enough to...anyone to wish for fresh breath. Anything could happen; she just needs to think about what.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *looks at calendar* *looks away* *smiles*

Lily knows she should probably be less cowardly. She should probably show up at his house, maybe sing him a song, invite herself in. But she doesn't know where his sisters are, and she would hate to have an audience for that kind of thing. And even though everything's about to change, she also craves the normalcy of just...texting James all the time. He probably won't text her first, since she totally freaked out last night and made it seem like she never wants to see him again, so it really is up to her to open the communication line.

She stews over what to say on the drive back to her house, and finally decides to keep it simple, and say what she would normally say if she'd freaked out and made him unhappy, because it's what she wants to say. She sits in her parking space and types it out.

_Hey. James. I'm sorry._

_:*_

The kiss emoticon is her concession to the idea that she's supposed to be having A Talk with James. But cowardly as she is, she wants him to start. Hopefully he will start.

With that done, Lily heads inside to freshen up just a tad. The mint from Alexis's office is a good start but she should probably try to look less like she died.

Freshening up turns out to be collapsing on her bed for a few hours. She didn't even fully see her bed before her brain short-circuited and deposited her there to pass out. She clearly spent way too much of the night staring sadly at her computer screen, and the adrenaline rush from sending that risky text apparently crashed hard. But it's fine. She doesn't have anything going on today.

At this point, a shower is probably necessary to continue the freshening-up process. Lily engages in the time-honored shower tradition of daydreaming possibilities so long that the water goes cold. It reminds her of the rain that fell during their first movie, when they played a very different Lily and James. She remembers the rueful look in James's eye when he leaned in and murmured, "Sorry about the tongue."

Ugh, she misses him. He better have responded to her text. When she gets out of the shower she throws on the nearest clean clothes (pajamas) and lets her hair drip down her back while she grabs her phone.

Or, well, she would grab her phone if she knew where it was. A quick dig through her purse and perusal of every surface in the house gives her enough data to surmise she must've left it in the car after she texted James. She darts outside to go look in her car.

James is sitting on her front step.

"Wow, you could've knocked?" she says in her first startled reaction.

"I did," he replies. "You didn't answer so I thought I'd just wait."

"I was in the shower." Lily sits down next to him. "And you might have noticed I don't have my phone with me either."

"Well, when you find it, don't be surprised to see approximately 7 missed calls and at least 30 texts. Most of them from me."

"I'm sorry."

James turns to look at her. Lily  _really_  wants to stay facing forward, but she makes herself look back at him. She can't read the expression on his face.

"You said you were sorry earlier," he says. "What did you mean?"

"I'm sorry I didn't want to talk last night. I'm sorry I was being a jerk. I'm sorry I ruined everything." She can't keep eye contact because then he might notice that she feels like crying. It's easier to face forward anyway.

"You didn't ruin everything. Not the way I seem to have ruined things." He sighs and faces forward again too. "My publicist has threatened to fire me for inviting my sisters without permission. I assume you had a similar conversation with yours?"

Lily shrugs. The action just happens to bring her in closer proximity to James. "Well...not really."

"Interesting."

They sit in silence for a while, neither looking at each other but close enough that Lily's hair is leaving water droplets on James's leg.

"I'm raining on you," she says, making no effort to move.

"That's all right. Lily and rain have always gone together in my mind."

This is so almost exactly what Lily was thinking earlier, she can't help but smile and drop her head onto his shoulder. James immediately wraps an arm around her waist and she feels  _so much_  she worries she might actually cry.

"So. Dumb question," James murmurs. "You aren't breaking up with me right now?"

"No, I don't want to break up with you." Lily sits up abruptly and peers suspiciously at his face. "Did you seriously come over to make me break up with you in person? James, we're not even dating!" 

"I wasn't completely sure," James admits. "You just apologized and then didn't respond for hours! Maybe you were telling me you were sorry that you couldn't keep up the charade anymore, that you wanted out of it."

"Sorry, I should've kept track of my phone. But I'm  _pretty_  sure that's not all I sent in my text." She leans in, eyebrows raised. "Wasn't there some sort of emoticon?"

For the first time since she found him on her front step, James smiles. "Oh, that? I assumed it was a typo."

"Not unless you want it to be," Lily whispers, as James meets her lips with his.

In minutes clocked, Lily's definitely spent more time kissing James than any other guy. They know how to move their faces in ways that look best for the camera. They've tried all sorts of blocking combinations to find the optimal lighting that factored in their height differences. It was all very professional and nothing at all like this.

The kiss is literally only like ten seconds long but as they part Lily notices they're both breathing shakily, leaning on each other's foreheads like they need the support.

"I don't want to break up," James says.

"Okay. We're agreed," Lily replies. It seems appropriate to seal this agreement with a kiss, so she presses her lips to his briefly. She could get used to this whole kissing-James-for-real thing.

"Would you like to go out for coffee sometime?" he asks, grinning.

"All I've had to eat today is a mint. Surely a big movie star like you would be willing to spring for some real food?"

"Oh, hmm. I thought I was going to be dating a wildly successful musician who could afford things like food."

Lily laughs, shoves him over, and gets up off the front step. "Either way, I should probably look a little more presentable if we're going to be somewhere we can be seen. After all, it's our first date. It might be big news. Want to come in?"

"If the other option is waiting out here on your doorstep, I suppose I may as well."

Lily gestures to the couch while she hurries and puts some real clothes on and grabs a comb for her hair. She comes back and James is on his phone, smiling. It's such an irresistible look for him that she can't help but join him on the couch even though she really should blow-dry her hair if she's ever going to eat.

"How are your sisters?" she asks.

"Sara's snapping me as we speak," James says, angling his phone so she can see a wide-eyed selfie of his youngest sister. "All I did was send a picture of your living room. Which is very nice."

"You've been in it before, but thanks, you flatterer. Here, I'll send her one." She grabs his phone and snaps a pic. It mostly shows her grinning face, but James's smile is visible too. "If she screenshots that it'll be worth real money."

"I think you just murdered my sister. Good luck getting past that PR."

"Oh, that reminds me. I'd better text Alexis and let her know what's up. She's totally on board with the change in our relationship, by the way. We just have to tell her."

"And maybe she can smooth the way with mine, good thinking. Too bad your phone is missing."

"Agh, okay, I'll finish getting ready and then we can go get my phone and you can take me to our coffee shop."

"Our coffee shop," James repeats happily, and pulls her in for a kiss. She loves it.

Lily is really, truly, honestly, about to disentangle herself and do her hair when the doorbell rings. Before she can get up, though, Pam unlocks the door and walks in.

"Okay," Pam says after a second. "I recognize I probably should've anticipated this outcome when you weren't answering your phone."

"I left it in the car," Lily replies.

"Ugh, you would." Pam sets down the bag she's holding and grabs Lily's car keys from their hook. "I'll be right back."

Lily glances at James. "I like her," he says. "She's a go-getter. What did she go get in that bag?"

"Food, probably? I'm sure she assumed I was cocooned in my bed and hadn't had a thing to eat today."

"Which is not that far off from the truth," James reminds her.  
"Okay, you've convinced me, I'm going to go see what she brought."

Lily's just opening the bag when Pam comes back in.

"Sure, help yourself, here's your phone with literally 150 missed messages, I'm out, see ya later."

Lily takes her phone and also grabs Pam's arm so she can't escape quite yet. "Thanks, Pam. This was a great idea." She hopes Pam knows she's not just talking about the food (and making a quick exit).

"I know, I know, you're going to write a song about me. Her name is Pam, I wish she'd scram..."

And she does.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There, the end. Finally. Abruptly.  
> I recognize that James and Lily are the only people in the world that would type ASCII emoticons rather than just going in their emoji keyboard but...back in 2014 was that really the case?? (Yeah I chose a fandom that's been dead for three years. Also...I type ASCII emoticons #writewhatyouknow)  
> 


End file.
